Insert for piano bridge



July 29, 1969 E. VAGIAS INSERT FOR PIANO BRIDGE Filed June 26, 1967 mil W W 6 5 Mo M M l /lm\ o W w Q M y H m m6 y E M E United States Patent 3,457,819 INSERT FOR PIANO BRIDGE Ernest Vagias, 265 Prospect St., Baden, Pa. 15005 Filed June 26, 1967, Ser. No. 648,607 Int. Cl. Gc 3/04 U.S. Cl. 84-209 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An insert for repairing a piano bridge having a split along a row of pins such that a group of the pins are incapable of supporting tuned vibrators, thus rendering the bridge inoperable. The insert provides pins which replace those inoperable pins and restores the bridge to an operable condition.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to an insert for a piano bridge, and more particularly to an insert having a plurality of pins certain of which are adapted to support tuned vibrators.

Description of the prior art Piano bridges of old pianos, especially the base bridge, are prone to splitting because they become dry. The split normally occurs along one or both rows of pins which support the tuned vibrators. Once the bridge is split in this manner, the tuned vibrators normally supported thereby cannot be played in the normal manner.

Heretofore, the repair of a split bridge has been diflicult to accomplish and more often than not, replacement of the entire bridge was necessary. Replacement of the entire bridge was and is a time consuming and an exceedingly expensive operation.

One repair insert has been used in the past to repair a split bridge. This insert consists of a rectangular metal plate having pairs of pins projecting from a face thereof. The plate is secured to the top of the bridge such that a tuned vibrator is supported by the projecting pins. The main disadvantage of this insert is that the tuned vibrator contacts the metal plate with a resulting loss in tone.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principal object of the invention is to provide an insert for readily restoring a split piano bridge to an operative condition.

Another object of the invention is to provide an insert having of pins certain of which are adapted to replace inoperative bridge pins and support tuned vibrators.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a metal insert for repairing a split bridge, said insert being relatively inexpensive to manufacture, readily curved to conform to the curvature of a piano bridge, and which may be readily installed with minimum expenditure of time and labor. I

A further object of the invention is to provide a metal insert which may be installed in a split bridge such that there is no loss in the musical tone of the tuned vibrator supported thereby.

In accordance with the present invention, a metal insert in provided comprising a body portion having a plurality of spaced-apart pins projecting from one edge thereof in substantially parallel relation. The body portion carries means adapting the metal insert for securement to a piano bridge such that certain of the pins are positioned to support tuned vibrators. The pins are of substantially equal length and thickness and preferably have an arcuate cross section such as round.

3,457,819 Patented July 29, 1969 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of the present metal insert;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view on an enlarged scale of the present metal insert;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of a piano bridge incorporating the present insert;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front view of the piano bridge of FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are cross-sectional views similar to FIG. 4 illustrating alternative arrangements according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is illustrated a metal insert 10 comprising a body portion 12 having an edge 14 with a plurality of generally parallel pins 16 projecting therefrom along the entire length thereof. The body portion 12 is provided with openings 18 which adapt the insert 10 for securement to a bridge as will be described.

The pins 16 are of substantially uniform thickness and length. In addition, the pins 16 are preferably circular as shown in FIG. 2 to prevent the undue stress which would be applied to a tuned vibrator if the pin had sharp edges rather than being rounded. Furthermore, the spacing 20 (FIG. 2) between adjacent pins 16 is equal to at least the combined thickness of two tuned vibrators.

The insert 10 is preferably formed from metals such as brass, stainless steel and the like. The insert 10 may be curved or bent during installation so as to correspond with the curvature of the bridge. Furthermore, the insert 10 may be provided in convenient lengths of say twelve inches and may be cut to the length required in repairing the bridge or may be used in conjunction with a second insert or fragment thereof in the case where the bridge split exceeds the length of the insert.

Referring now to FIG. 3, 4 and 5, there is shown a piano 21 having a bridge 22 supported on a sounding board 24. The bridge 22 includes opposite faces 26, 28 and a top 30 from which project front and rear rows of pins 32, 34. As is conventional, the front row of pins 32 determine the tuned length of the vibrators 36 while the rear row of pins 34 serve only as support pins. Also as is conventional, th piano 21 includes a metal base 38 having hitch pins 40 to which the ends of the vibrators 36 are connected.

INSTALLATION OF INSERT 10 A split or crack may occur in the bridge 22 such that a group of consecutive ones of the front pins 32 are rendered incapable of supporting the vibrators 36. In this instance, the insert 10 must be installed on the bridge 22 such that the pins 16 thereof are aligned with the front row of pins 32. This is essential since the front pins 32 determine the tuned length of the vibrators 36. Thus as shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, a recess 42 is provided in the front face 26 of the bridge 22, which receives the insert 10. A backup plate 44 is applied to the rear face 28. Tie means such as fasteners 46 tie the insert 10 to the backup plate 44 with the bridge 22 therebetween. The vibrators 36 are now supported by the pins 16 and the rear pins 34 and the once inoperable bridge 22 is now operative. It is important to note in FIG. 5, for example, that the edge 14 of the body portion 12 is below the bridge top 30. The vibrator 36 maintains its normal contact with the bridge top. Thus, there is no loss of tone.

A split;or crack may also occur in the bridge 22 such that a group of consecutive ones of the rear pins 34 are rendered incapable of supporting the tuned vibrators 36. In this instance, as shown in FIG. 6, the insert 10 is applied to the rear face 28 of the bridge 22 and secured thereto by fasteners 48 such that the pins 16 thereof project above the bridge top 30 to support the vibrators 36.

Splits or cracks may also occur in the bridge 22 such that a group of consecutive ones of the front pins 32 and a group of consecutive ones of the rear pins 34 are renderedincapable of supporting the tuned vibrators. In this instance, as shown in FIG. 7, an insert 10 is applied to the recess 42 provided in the bridge front face 26 and a second insert 10 is applied to the bridge rear face 28. Fasteners 46 tie the inserts 10 together and to the bridge 22. The pins 16 of the inserts 10 project above the bridge top 30 and support the vibrators 36.

Although the invention has been shown in connection with one specific embodiment, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes in form and arrangement of parts may 'be made to suit requirements without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, a piano bridge, a plurality of tuned vibrators overlying the top of said bridge, and a piano bridge insert for replacing a group of bridge pins which are incapable of supporting tuned vibrators, said insert comprising a body portion having opposite edges, and spaced-apart members extending transversely from one of said opposite edges, said spaced-apart members providing plural slots for receiving tuned vibrators, said body portion being secured to said bridge with said members projecting above the top of said bridge, certain 4 of said members being engaged by and supporting tuned vibrators.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said insert is formed from metal.

3. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said members terminate in spaced-apart ends providing open slot ends remote from said body portion through which tuned vibrators are received.

4. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said members are of substantially equal length.

5. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said members are of substantially equal thickness.

6. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said members are spaced apart by at least the combined thickness of two tuned vibrators.

7. The combination defined in claim 1 including a backup plate, and tie means for tying said backup plate to said insert with said bridge between said backup plate and said insert.

8. The combination defined in claim 1 including a second insert, and means for tying said second insert to the first said insert with said bridge positioned therebetween, certain of the members of both inserts being engaged by and supporting tuned vibrators.

9. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein the length of each of said slots is greater than the thickness of a tuned vibrator.

10. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said body portion is provided with openings facilitating securement of said insert to said piano bridge.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 27,943 2/1903 France.

OTHER REFERENCES Handymans Book, Better Homes and Gardens, Meredith Publishing Co., 1957, pp. 143, 146.

RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner LAWRENCE R. FRANKLIN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 84-213 

